A MOTORCYCLE ADVENTURE BLOG​

HOPEFULLY AND PROBABLY, ROMANCE VS. REALITY…​

Day 16Start – Best Western JakartaFinish – Best Western JakartaDistance travelled – 0km Words by - Johnny Bang

After the best night sleep of the trip, we woke up in our hotel at 9am and headed out to do the job we are here for – secure our Myanmar Visa. It all worked out pretty well, and while the consulate is only open to process visas for 1 hour a day, we fluked the right time.

Hopefully we will get the visas back in 3 days. Probably they will delay us by asking for a bunch of forms and letters we have never heard of and can’t produce. The Myanmar embassy was somewhat less regal then I was expecting.

From the start this trip has been a balance of romance and reality. The romance of leaving Australia on a motorbike and riding across the world on a journey of freedom, and the reality of bureaucracy – paperwork, visas, passports, registration, licences and special permissions. So far for every hour I have spent on the bike, I have probably spent 6 hours on planning or paperwork. Hopefully that ratio evens-up in the next month or so…

Project management is part of what I do for a living, but this has been the biggest logistical challenge I have ever undertaken. I am hoping that the experience I garner will be worthwhile - if I can pull this off I can do anything. The biggest lesson I have learnt so far is I am nowhere without my wife. Her support, and help behind the scenes would equal the time I myself have put into planning this trip. I would be nowhere without her. Thankyou Kylie, I will repay this selfish endeavour and reward your support. I love you.

In other news, a large part of my day was spent washing all my clothes after a spare sprocket rubbed through one of my pannier bags, opening a hole that yesterday distributed road water through every item of clothing I have. The bikes will be a job for tomorrow – they are all a bit worse for wear after the last 1,500km of Indonesian roads, and we are planning to use this visa break to give them a ‘birthday’ (oil, chain, sprockets). There were definitely a few new noises coming from my bike on the ride in last night, and I am hoping it is nothing more serious than the 84 octane fuel we have had to use…